


Barriers

by intelligentle



Category: Chicago Code
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode 1x09 - St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Episode 1x10 - Bathhouse and Hinky Dink, Episode Related, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Non-Canon Relationship, One Shot, Past Relationship(s), Ray makes cameo appearances but I still wanted to include him in the tags, Reminiscing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:14:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21820756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/intelligentle/pseuds/intelligentle
Summary: A reimagining as to what could have happened after the end of episode 1x09.  Set within canon of the show, that then diverges slightly.
Relationships: Teresa Colvin & Jarek Wysocki, Teresa Colvin/Jarek Wysocki
Kudos: 1





	Barriers

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this back in 2017 or so, (can't remember actually), and only posted it on my Tumblr. I always felt that the scene at the end of 1x09 was such a conversation starter on the T/J relationship. It was never brought up again since the show was canceled. This is my attempt at showing what could have happened. Any comments and/or constructive criticism is appreciated.

\---------------------------------------

“You’re getting the first round,” Teresa smirked at him as he entered the car. Ray held the door until both were safely in and then shut it. Running around to the front, he quickly got in and started the car.

Their smiles turned into awkward glances, the moment before having passed. Teresa tried to catch his eye across the seat but he was tuned out, his elbow resting on top of the door, the lights of the city passing by. She looked down at her hands, taking deep breaths, suddenly feeling nervous.

“You never did answer my question.” She turned, hoping to break him out of his thoughts.

“Yes I did,” he said, his hand half-covering his mouth. She could see he was thinking intently, rubbing his hand over stubble. 

Sensing a barrier, she turned back to the window, hoping that the lights rushing by would help her nerves. It didn’t. She didn’t want to argue with him, but she couldn’t stand the thought that he was keeping something from her.

He broke the silence, sighing deeply and then - “You really want to know the reason why I “kicked you to the curb”?” She didn’t look at him. She didn’t want to, her apprehension rising a tenfold.

“It was because I was falling in love with you.”

She turned then and all of her feelings of anger and annoyance were erased. He was staring intently at her. His eyes flickered with the passing lights - intense, leaving her bare, seeing beneath her toughened exterior. She felt her heart begin to race, her mind fumbling through what seemed a million different responses. He moved closer to her, taking a risk and letting his hand rest on her thigh, never letting his gaze leave hers. He liked the control he had over her.

She felt his touch and didn’t move away as something took hold of her, moving closer to him.

“You lied to me.”

“I didn’t lie,” he smiled, letting his arm rest over the back seat, across her shoulders. “I just didn’t tell you everything.”

“You were married then.”

“Like that’s ever stopped me.”

She was drowning, treading dangerous waters. His hand moved farther up her thigh, inching along and she held her breath. His eyes, deep cerulean pools of blue - a mirror into their past, when she felt nothing but adoration and love for him. He’d been there for her through everything, had her back as she did his. She was stupid. She should have known. Her fingers found his chin, pulling it up so he had nowhere to look but into her eyes. His hand moved from her thigh to her hip, holding her.

“I know that I hurt you, but I’m willing to make amends with the past.” She searched him for answers.

“What do you want from me?” she barely whispered, feeling the scale beginning to tip, the past brimming to the top.

“I want more.”

She let out a breath she’d been holding, his confession washing over her, the realization dawning that he’d been planning for this moment, meticulously, when he would draw her in. She felt his arm coil around her shoulders, forcing her hand to bring them even closer. He tilted his head waiting for the moment when their lips would touch.

“We’re here.”

Ray’s words echoed loudly inside the car. Teresa and Jarek springing back onto the seat as if a fire had been lit beneath them. Ray, always on cue, quickly opened his door ready to let his passengers out unaware of what had transpired.

The back door opened and Teresa slid out, Jarek following quietly behind her. Ray followed them until he reached the foot of her sidewalk. With a curt nod, he bid them goodnight. Teresa watched him drive off before realizing her heart was still racing. She turned back towards him. He was staring at her, waiting. An awkward silence transpired in which she walked up the stairs to her apartment. He didn’t follow her, instead deciding to wait at the bottom. She had almost forgotten what had happened in the car when she reached down and then…..

Oh no. She patted herself, turning around helplessly as the car carrying her purse, keys, and phone turned onto the next block.

“What’s wrong?” His voice came back in a rush, momentarily forgetting he was still there. Standing at the top of the steps, she forced herself to turn halfway, apprehension building. “I left my purse in the car along with my phone and keys.”

He blinked, confused, never thinking her to be a forgetful person.

“Do you have yours?” she said exasperated.

He started to pat himself down, twisting and turning around. Her annoyance faded when she realized how comical it was and started laughing. She didn’t realize it until he looked up and she saw him smirking. Triumphantly, he pulled out his car keys. 

“Those aren’t your house keys.”

“I know.”

“So, where are they?”

“I don’t know. They must be in the car. Same as yours.”

Her face fell slightly, trying to read his actions. When the moment grew too long, and he continued to gaze she pressed: “What?”

He shrugged. “Just remembering the past I guess.”

“The past?”

“Old habits.”

“What old habits?”

“Like how I used to wait outside for you like this.”

She turned fully towards him, walking to the front of the top step.

“That was a long time ago, Jarek.”

“Yeah, but the past sometimes doesn’t hurt.”

“Sometimes it does.”

He was bringing up those three days she wished she could forget. She still wasn’t good at it. For all these years she had tried forgetting, forgetting how much he’d meant to her, but it was in moments like these when she was alone with him that they kept coming back.

He, in turn, wished she wouldn’t keep shutting him out. He was still stuck in a turmoil of his own, but seeing her, being with her was making him believe he could sort it all out.

“And I remember waiting each and every night. When I’d take you home, I waited for you to say anything, show anything, that would make me know how I felt about you.”

She watched him intently, trying to read his true intentions. Slowly, she descended the first step, leaning on the railing.

“And what makes you think I’m going to change my mind? What makes you think I’m going to give up everything for you? We were very different people back then.”

“And we’re very different people now.”

“Exactly. I can’t go back to the past. Not with you. Not with everything that I’ve gone through.” She turned on her heels, swiftly up the stairs even though she had nowhere to go.

“Why?”

His forceful tone made her eyes widen. She kept her back to him. “When are you ever going to believe that your job isn’t everything in life. How people think of you isn’t everything.”

Then she knew he wasn’t lying. She didn’t know if it was what he’d said, the way he said it or because the truth was plainly there in his words, but this wasn’t the Jarek from her past.

He waited, hoping she would turn around. He didn’t know why she was reaching for the doorknob. So he tried his last resort.

“I’ve always loved you, Teresa.”

Her eyes widened, her hand slowly shaking on the doorknob. She couldn’t keep the memories at bay, not with him standing there making them well up inside of her. When she turned back, he was looking back at her with glassy eyes.

“I left you back then because I didn’t want to hurt you anymore. And I knew then that all you wanted was to be with me, but I denied that from you.”  
“And what about “the best partner you ever had?”  
She’d turned around and had descended the top stair again. Jarek didn’t miss a beat. “You still are the best partner I’ve ever had.”

Hearing him reaffirm that statement made something swell inside of her. He reached his hand out to her, beckoning.   


She didn’t know what to do at first. Caught between his present self, reckless, cocky, but resilient and loyal, and the past version of him who’d left her with nothing. She’d swore to herself that she’d never let anyone back into her life. But his gesture was offering a chance for her to change, to finally have something different, something exciting happen in her life.

_This is it_ , she thought. _I can’t go back after this. No matter what happens now, I most definitely can’t go back._

Reaching out, she took his hand, finally descending the stairs, stepping over the boundary she created for herself and into the space he’d created for her.

She searched him, wanting to believe what he’d just said was real. He continued to hold her hand, rubbing his thumb over the top.

A light breeze picked up and tousled her hair. He brushed it away from her face.

“I told you earlier that I’d make amends with the past. To forget it and move on.” He was afraid she was going to run. She always did. Whenever someone got too close, she had to run, had to escape her feelings, the responsibility of being committed to someone else. He waited, hoping against all that she wasn’t thinking it. That she’d finally let him back into her life.

She still didn’t know how it was going to work, but for everything that had led up to this moment, it had been something she wanted, something she had denied for too long. She then reached down and took his other hand, enclosing it on top of hers. Looking deep into his eyes, she said what he’d been thinking.

“This is me moving on.” Her hand tightened over his.

“With you.”

She felt lighter all of a sudden, an enormous weight being lifted off her. All of her regrets, doubts, fears melted away. Her habit of punishing herself, gone. This was what she truly needed.

He stared at her stunned, not believing that she’d be so willing, so confident to step over the line.

“Are you sure?” he asked cautiously. It was an unromantic thing to say that should’ve killed the moment, but she smiled widely at him.“Yes.” She took that moment to pull him close, her hand around the back of his head, bringing his lips upon hers.

Jarek heard what she’d said but still didn’t believe it. It wasn’t until her hand was behind his head and he was kissing her, that he knew this was for real.

———————————————–

She awoke the next morning to the voice of a man blaring through her bedside radio. Sighing loudly, she rolled over to turn it off but not before seeing the bright red numbers emblazoned on its face. 6:00 am. She’d only been asleep for four hours. _Better than I usually do_ , she thought. She pulled the covers back over her, smiling to herself. Looking over to the other side of the bed, where he should’ve been but wasn’t, she remembered what had transpired the night before.

_ The night air had become chilly and since Jarek had his car keys, they decided to wait in the car while she used his phone to call Ray. Judging by the tone of her voice, it would be a while before he returned to their neighborhood. Hitting the “end call” button on his phone, she handed it back to him. Another awkward silence occurred while they sat across each other, her in the passenger, him in the driver’s seat. His arm rested on the windowsill, rubbing his stubble again, unsure of what to say or do next. _

_ So she took that moment to reach for him again, surprising him at first, but then he was holding her face in his hands, kissing her back. He relished the feeling of her inside his mouth. When she reached up and started undoing his tie, he broke them apart.  _

_ “We shouldn’t.” _

_ Teresa looked at him, confused. _

_ He couldn’t let her go there, not yet. If they went too fast, it could all be over in minutes. _

_ It was then, when she felt no more than mere seconds had passed, that headlights reflected off the windshield of his car. _

_ Ray had arrived and quickly they both exited the car, waiting to greet him. Teresa, thinking he had gone home to get what she thought was some well-deserved rest, seemed to bound out of the car as if sleep deprivation didn’t matter. He held out his hands showing he had her purse and his house keys. When they were safely back in their owners’ hands, he bid them goodnight again, Teresa thanking him profusely for driving all the way out there. _

_ As they watched him drive away for the second time that night, he followed behind as she walked towards her apartment. She ascended the stairs, taking out her keys, the sound of them jarring to her ears. She reached the top of the stairs and had already put the key in the doorknob when she realized he was standing behind her. She had expected to turn around and find him standing at the bottom, awkwardly saying their goodnights. But this, this was just asking for….. _

_ “I want more.”  _

_ Slowly, she turned around to face him, her body planted against the door. He just stood there, not moving, not saying anything. He could never make up his mind, could he? It was what she disliked about him, never being able to control his feelings. Jumping all over the place. Undecided.  _

_ “I was just going to say goodnight.” _

_ How innocent that sounded coming from him. She knew that wasn’t what he’d intended. As he continued to wait for a response, she felt the knob turning in her hand. She’d already made the decision, crossed that barrier for him again. As the door swung open behind her, revealing the darkness within, she stepped aside for him. She wasn’t going to play games with him. She knew what she wanted and right now she was giving him a choice. It was up to him to make the decision.  
_

_ When he finally did step over the threshold, she immediately pulled him towards her again. This time there would be no distractions. She helped him discard his tie and shirt, and reaching up he took the tie out of her hair, letting it flow around her shoulders. Kissing him hungrily, she felt the barriers she’d created for him slowly disappear. He reached down for her hips and she obliged, wrapping her legs around his waist. Burying her face in his shoulder, tousling his hair, he carried her towards her room, but not before she reached over to close the door behind them. _

———————————————–

Smiling at the ceiling, she crept out of bed, grabbing the watch she always set on her nightstand. Checking the time again, she had about an hour to be at the courthouse on 26th and California. It was a big day, the start of the grand jury trial that would set her against Gibbons and what would ultimately, hopefully, be his undoing. Emerging back into her bedroom, she walked to the window to see a large black Escalade waiting for her. In its driver’s seat, she saw the blonde haired-blue eyed former Marine, always waiting, always at the ready.

As the truck turned onto California she pulled out her phone. Thinking she could calm her nerves a bit she spent the next few minutes texting him, her fingers flying over the keyboard about why he hadn’t been there when she woke up.  


_“Can’t….people would start talking.”_ She smiled down at his reply. What was it he’d said to her last night? Something about not worrying what others thought? She understood completely though. If others did find out it would ruin both of them. Her stomach did little flip-flops as the car approached, and looking out the window she saw he was waiting for her. Self-consciously, she pulled at the skirt she’d chosen to wear that day, half out of wanting him to see her in it (she never usually wore them anyway), and half out of wanting to be presentable and respectable at what was a huge turning point in her career.  


As soon as the truck pulled up, he stepped forward and opened the door. Glancing downwards he was momentarily struck to see she was wearing…. _a skirt?_ She stepped out onto the sidewalk, smiling broadly at him. “Good morning,” she said. He mumbled something she couldn’t hear, too stunned at the sight of her. As they walked together, he glanced back once again, just to make sure that was really her. _“Wow,”_ he thought to himself as his eyebrows shot up before turning his attention back to keeping one foot in front of the other.

She took one more glance at him as they neared the steps to the courthouse, and knew that this day was going to be great.


End file.
